Clumping Bamboo. Guadua
Guadua angustifolia

Family: Poaceae

What it is like

Guadua angustifolia is an evergreen Bamboo growing to 25 m (82ft) by 5 m (16ft) at a fast rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 10. The flowers are pollinated by Wind. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid and neutral soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil and can tolerate drought.

Height (m): 25

Where it is found

It is a tropical plant. Forms dominant colonies known as "guaduales" or guadua groves which reach their optimum development in the central region of the Andes.

Central to South America. Guadua angustifolia is only native to Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela.

Conservation Status: This taxon has not yet been assessed

Countries/locations it is found in

Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Central America, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, North America, Panama, Peru, SE Asia, Singapore, South America, USA, Venezuela

How it is used

Food

Rating: 0

No evidence the shoots are edible.

Medicine

Rating: 0

Other

Rating: 5

Furniture & crafts work, raw construction material, panels (plywood, laminates, floors), bio-energy industry, musical instruments, houses, etc. Guadua meets the International Building Code (IBC) . Too big for pots and containers. A good ornamental bamboo. Carbon Farming Solutions - Industrial Crop: biomass (Crops grown for non-food uses. Industrial crops provide resources in three main categories: materials, chemicals, and energy. Traditional materials include lumber and thatch, paper and cardboard, and textiles). Fodder: bank.

Biomass: Provides a large quantity of plant material that can be converted into fuel etc.

Fodder: Food given to the animals (including plants cut and carried to them) rather than forage for themselves.

Furniture: A few miscellaneous uses that do not fit easily into other headings.

Paper: Related to the entry for Fibre, these plants have been specifically mentioned for paper making.

Plant support: Usually bamboos, used as canes in the garden for holding up plants.

Wood: A list of the trees and shrubs that are noted for having useful wood.

Fodder: Bank: Fodder banks are plantings of high-quality fodder species. Their goal is to maintain healthy productive animals. They can be utilized all year, but are designed to bridge the forage scarcity of annual dry seasons. Fodder bank plants are usually trees or shrubs, and often legumes. The relatively deep roots of these woody perennials allow them to reach soil nutrients and moisture not available to grasses and herbaceous plants.

Industrial Crop: Biomass: Three broad categories: bamboos, resprouting woody plants, and giant grasses. uses include: protein, materials (paper, building materials, fibers, biochar etc.), chemicals (biobased chemicals), energy - biofuels

Management: Managed Multistem: Regularly removing some multiple stems. A non-A non-destructive management systems maintaining the soil organic carbon.

Regional Crop: These crops have been domesticated and cultivated regionally but have not been adopted elsewhere and are typically not traded globally, Examples in this broad category include perennial cottons and many nuts and staple fruits.

Fodder: Bank: Fodder banks are plantings of high-quality fodder species. Their goal is to maintain healthy productive animals. They can be utilized all year, but are designed to bridge the forage scarcity of annual dry seasons. Fodder bank plants are usually trees or shrubs, and often legumes. The relatively deep roots of these woody perennials allow them to reach soil nutrients and moisture not available to grasses and herbaceous plants.

Industrial Crop: Biomass: Three broad categories: bamboos, resprouting woody plants, and giant grasses. uses include: protein, materials (paper, building materials, fibers, biochar etc.), chemicals (biobased chemicals), energy - biofuels

Management: Managed Multistem: Regularly removing some multiple stems. A non-A non-destructive management systems maintaining the soil organic carbon.

Regional Crop: These crops have been domesticated and cultivated regionally but have not been adopted elsewhere and are typically not traded globally, Examples in this broad category include perennial cottons and many nuts and staple fruits.

Carbon Farming: Plants that can be a critical part of the solution to climate problems. The Carbon Farming Solution - Eric Toensmeier.

Food Forest: Plants for Edible Forest Gardens and Food Forests.

How it is grown

Climate: subtropical to tropical. Humidity: humid. Minimum temperature tolerance: -2°C. Prefers tropical or subtropical climates, but still tolerates some frost. Full sun. Moist, well drained soil. Soil pH requirements: 5.6 (acidic) to 7.5 (neutral). Normal growing conditions in the central region of the Andes, between 900 and 1,600 meters above sea level, at temperatures between 20° and 26° Centigrade, rainfalls of 2,000 - 2,500 mm/year, a relative humidity of 75 - 85% and on alluvial soils that are rich in volcanic ash with a moderate fertility and good drainage. Carbon Farming Solutions - Cultivation: regional crop. Management: managed multistem (Describes the non-destructive management systems that are used in cultivation).

Propagating it: Cuttings

Best place to grow:

Habit: Bamboo

Hardiness: 10-12

Growth: Fast

Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)

Shade: Semi-shade, no shade

Moisture: Moist

Things to keep in mind

Sharp spines

Its other names

Local names

Columbian Giant Thorny, Giant Columbian bamboo, Columbian Timber Bamboo

Synonyms

Arundarbor guadua (Humb. & Bonpl.) Kuntze. Bambos aculeata (Rupr. ex E.Fourn.) Hitchc. Bambusa aculeata (E.Fourn.) Hitchc. Bambusa guadua Bonpl. Bambusa inermis Caldas. Guadua aculeata E.Fourn. Guadua inermis E.Fourn. Guadua intermedia E.Fourn. Nastus guadua (Kunth) Spreng.